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Indie developer Fresh3D recently launched a Kickstarter project to fund a high-definition remake of Outcast, the 1999 Infogrames-published PC adventure game. The open-world game will feature re-designed objects, textures, environments and characters, each made from scratch to run in 1080p HD at 60 frames per second. The developer is targeting $600,000 by Wednesday, May 7, to fund the game. So far it's achieved more than $140,000.

Fresh3D includes three designers from Appeal, the developer of the original cult classic adventure game: Yann Robert, Franck Sauer and Yves Grolet. Grolet is involved in the project as a gameplay advisor, while Robert and Sauer are technical and creative directors, respectively. The three designers purchased the rights to Outcast in July 2013.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appealCrowdFundingfranck-sauerfresh3dhigh-defInfogrameskickstarteroutcastpcrebootremakeyann-robertyves-groletThu, 10 Apr 2014 21:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/07/03/outcast-creators-purchase-ip-from-atari/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/07/03/outcast-creators-purchase-ip-from-atari/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/07/03/outcast-creators-purchase-ip-from-atari/#comments
The founders of Appeal, the development studio responsible for 1999's sci-fi action game, Outcast, have purchased the intellectual property rights for that brand from holding company Atari, formerly known as Infogrames Entertainment.

The original Appeal employees involved, Yann Robert, Franck Sauer and Yves Grolet, are starting a "revival of the franchise" according to the announcement of the rights acquisition - specifics as to what that means were not given. Outcast designer Bruno Bonnell's name was also not mentioned in the press release.

Outcast concerns one Cutter Slade, an ex-Navy SEAL operative tasked with escorting a team of scientists into an alternate dimension, so that they may locate and recover a US government probe that is in danger of causing a black hole. All of this takes place in the distant future year of 2007, but here in 2013 the game itself can be purchased on GOG for $3.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AppealAtariInfogramesIPOutcastpcrightsWed, 03 Jul 2013 21:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/21/atari-bankruptcy-selling-assets/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/21/atari-bankruptcy-selling-assets/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/21/atari-bankruptcy-selling-assets/#commentsAtari Inc. filed for chapter 11 (restructuring) bankruptcy this morning, as it aimed to detach itself from Atari SA, its French parent company, and acquire independent business. Atari Inc. said it plans to sell all of its assets in the next 90 to 120 days, including defining franchises such as Pong and Asteroids, and even its iconic logo. The company has already secured, pending approval, $5.25 million in debtor-in-possession investment from funds managed by investment advisory Tenor Capital Management.

While Atari boasts a 40 year history, and is tied closely to the pioneering years of the arcade, its name has meant a number of different things across that time thanks to several changes of hands.

The US-based company now called Atari. Inc was GT Interactive when it was founded in 1993. GT Interactive then became Infogrames Inc. in 1999 after French company Infogrames Entertainment acquired controlling interest in it. In 2001, Infogrames Entertainment bought Hasbro Interactive, who had acquired Atari Corporation and its Atari properties three years prior. In 2003, Infogrames Inc. became Atari Inc, now with license to use the Atari name and logo, and in 2008 Infogrames Entertainment completely acquired the company. Then, just to confuse everything that one step further, Infogrames Entertainment renamed itself as Atari, SA in 2009.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>atariatari-incatari-sabankruptcyinfogramesMon, 21 Jan 2013 08:45:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/alone-in-the-dark-creator-would-love-an-hd-remake/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/alone-in-the-dark-creator-would-love-an-hd-remake/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/alone-in-the-dark-creator-would-love-an-hd-remake/#commentsHD remakes are becoming more prevalent in the video games industry, as a means of introducing a new generation of gamers to something they may have otherwise never played. Frédérick Raynal, designer of the original survival-horror game, Alone in the Dark, said he's totally on board with an HD remake.

"I would love an HD remake one day and I hope it will happen, one day," Raynal responded when asked about the possibility at the conclusion of his GDC postmortem. "I think Infogrames holds the rights; I'm not sure about that."

Atari published the last entry in the Alone in the Dark series back in 2008. If someone wants to get a remake out in time for the 20th Anniversary of the original game, they'll have to get it out within the next nine months.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>atarifrederick-raynalgdc-2012hd-remakeinfogramespcFri, 09 Mar 2012 19:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/the-bullshot-dates-back-to-alone-in-the-dark/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/the-bullshot-dates-back-to-alone-in-the-dark/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/the-bullshot-dates-back-to-alone-in-the-dark/#commentsIn the games industry, a 'bullshot' is a screenshot that's been manipulated to appear prettier and more exciting than the actual game. It happens more commonly than our tag would have you believe.

The thing is, scientists have been trying to determine the genesis of this heinous act for quite some time now -- and we think we've found a prominent example of one of the earliest bullshots in Alone in the Dark.

During his GDC postmortem, designer Frédérick Raynal admitted that he drew the back-of-the-box face for Alone in the Dark's protagonist in MS Paint, back in 1992. The main character doesn't look like he does above in the actual game, though the original packaging still shows the hand-drawn visage.

"We were in September 1992, master state, but we still had no head for the hero." Raynal said that Infrogrames was looking for screens to share at the time, and so Raynal was in a tough spot. He decided he was just going to draw the head in.

"It is funny because if you still look on the first box for the game, you an see those pictures with the fake head on it." Raynal said the bullshot even made it into the game -- if you don't touch the keys in the main menu, a slideshow featuring the touched-up image will start up. Nobody ever bothered to fix it.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bullshotfrederick-raynalgdc-2012infogramespcsurvival-horrorFri, 09 Mar 2012 17:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/25/alone-in-the-dark-the-new-nightmare-rated-for-ps3-by-esrb/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/25/alone-in-the-dark-the-new-nightmare-rated-for-ps3-by-esrb/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/25/alone-in-the-dark-the-new-nightmare-rated-for-ps3-by-esrb/#comments
If a recently published ESRB rating is any indication, Sony is getting ready to re-release Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare on PS3 -- which, considering the original came out in 2001, might need a new subtitle. The rating might indicate that the game is simply being ported over as a PSOne Classic on PSN; however, ESRB ratings for such releases usually include a PSP designation, as well.

Should the generally well-received horror title be remade for PS3, it would make for an interesting cross-platform hat trick -- The New Nightmare's already appeared on PS1 and PS2. We get this bad boy on the PSP, NGP and Xperia Play, and all of a sudden, we might be looking at a new PlayStation brand mascot: Gun-Couple! The couple with guns.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alone-in-the-darkalone-in-the-dark-the-new-nightmaredarkworksesrbinfogramesplaystationps3Sony-Computer-Entertainmentspiral-houseWed, 25 May 2011 17:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/30/no-more-confusion-atari-drops-infogrames-name/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/30/no-more-confusion-atari-drops-infogrames-name/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/30/no-more-confusion-atari-drops-infogrames-name/#commentsDespite Infogrames standing for entertainment that rocks our world, the armadillo branding is gone and now only Atari remains. CEO Jim Wilson tells 1UP that the company is now officially doing away with the Infogrames branding to put focus on the more "popular target brand" of Atari.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ataribusinessinfogramesjim-wilsonSat, 30 May 2009 11:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/29/phil-harrison-steps-down-as-president-of-troubled-atari/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/29/phil-harrison-steps-down-as-president-of-troubled-atari/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/29/phil-harrison-steps-down-as-president-of-troubled-atari/#commentsAtari president Phil Harrison, who joined the company last year, has taken a position as "non-executive director." According to Eurogamer, the move is a result of Atari's new focus on North American operations, following the sale of its European distribution to Namco Bandai.

Parent company Infogrames announced a loss of €226.1 million ($319.6m) for the last fiscal year, due in part to the loss of revenue that would have come in from the distribution business. As a result, Atari said it has canceled some of its projects to focus on "more cost-effective" games.

The identity of the canceled projects is unknown, but Atari released a hint of what some of the new, cost-effective, mass-market games would be: Cryptic Studios will create "a series of new games based on Atari's existing and historically successful IPs."

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ataricryptic-studiosinfogramesphil-harrisonFri, 29 May 2009 10:59:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/14/atari-finished-in-europe-namco-taking-over/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/14/atari-finished-in-europe-namco-taking-over/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/14/atari-finished-in-europe-namco-taking-over/#comments
And thus concludes Atari's European operations, reports MCV. Infogrames/Atari announced in March that it was selling its 66 percent stake in Distribution Partners, a retail distribution and marketing company, to Namco Bandai. MCV states Atari Europe will shut down in the coming weeks and the sales/marketing team will transition to the new company. This would also help explain why Sony is publishing Ghostbusters in Europe.

Atari's US offices will now become the publisher's sole headquarters. So sad then that the company can only crash E3, the biggest party of the year. Just wait, there's still more to come from the disgraced, born again and ... well, whatever it's doing now, company.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ataribusinessdistributiondistribution-partnersinfogramesnamco-bandaiThu, 14 May 2009 11:45:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/26/atari-infogrames-sells-distribution-business-to-namco-bandai/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/26/atari-infogrames-sells-distribution-business-to-namco-bandai/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/26/atari-infogrames-sells-distribution-business-to-namco-bandai/#comments
Atari/Infogrames is selling its 66 percent stake in Distribution Partners, a retail distribution and marketing company. In a rather strange turn of events, those shares will be delivered to Namco Bandai. (Infogrames has traditionally published Namco Bandai's products in Europe.)

The financial struggles of Infogrames are well-known, but the company has been making great strides in revitalizing its business. The sale of its majority stake in Distribution Partners will allow the company to further its "transformation into a content-led online game company." The money earned from this sale will be used to invest in further game development -- or, considering the company's track record, other orphaned game projects.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ataribusinessdistribution-partnersinfogramesnamco-bandaiThu, 26 Mar 2009 22:13:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/08/harrison-atari-to-focus-on-downloadable-psp-titles/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/08/harrison-atari-to-focus-on-downloadable-psp-titles/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/08/harrison-atari-to-focus-on-downloadable-psp-titles/#comments
Monsieur Phil Harrison, AKA directeur général déléguédes Infogrames, had some words of praise for the PSP at Atari's global showcase last week in London as he called it a "vibrant platform." However, the praise falls short of software support as Phil said the company currently wasn't going to make any new game announcements for the system.

Harrison noted, while not having anything specific to speak of, that Atari does have interest in going the route of e-distribution titles. Said Harrison: "There is no doubt that PSP is a very vibrant platform from a hardware perspective and I think Sony has recently made some good moves into opening up online distribution for software on PSP, so I'm looking to explore that." A downloadable version of N+ would be a great start, Phil!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>atariinfogramesnphil-harrisonMon, 08 Dec 2008 10:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/05/phil-harrison-still-3-home/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/05/phil-harrison-still-3-home/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/05/phil-harrison-still-3-home/#comments
Looks like Phil Harrison hasn't forgotten his roots after leaving Sony earlier this year. Speaking to Eurogamer at an event earlier this week, the President of Infogrames said that Home will be "a very successful platform" and that Sony will have "brilliantly realized their ambitions."

Harrison has also been checking out his former employer's competition. The ex-Sony exec had this to say about the Xbox 360's newly launched system software, the New Xbox Experience: "I was quite impressed .. they're just scratching the surface of what the whole industry recognizes ... that customization, socialization and community platforms are going to be just as important as the games themselves."

Infogrames President Phil Harrison announced today at a publisher event that the company plans to revisit Baldur's Gate,Dungeons & Dragons, Neverwinter Nights and Test Drive Unlimited -- but not until after 2009 (via Eurogamer). Three of those franchises have had recent releases (NWN2: Storm of the Zehir last month, TDU and D&D Tactics in February 2007).

As for Baldur's Gate, a follow-up to BG2: Throne of Bhaal has been rumored since 2001 from now-defunct Black Isle Studios. It was reportedly mentioned again by a PC Gamer UK editor as recently as January 2008.

Although Infogrames won't announce profit/loss figures for a couple of weeks (it's a French thing), the company's sales figures show that it's surviving. The half-year fiscal results show that net revenues are up by 44.5%, with Atari seeing the largest growth of 145% to $46 million.

CEO David Gardner thinks that the economic climate will make the holiday season competitive, but he still projects revenue percentage growth of mid- to high-teens and a "return to profitability" by the second half of the next fiscal year. He reiterates that the company's new distribution deals and recent title acquisitions show the path to profitability.

Atari's reinvention continues as CEO David Gardner and President Phil Harrison delve into the company's strategy to fully embrace an online business model. Speaking to Develop, the pair expresses the company's necessary geographic expansion outside of France (home of Atari parent, Infogrames), which we're starting to see in the establishment of a UK studio and the hiring of SingStar guru Paulina Bozek.

Atari also plans to produce a variety of games for PSN, iTunes, Facebook, Xbox Live Arcade, and to stay, as Harrison puts it, "broadly online distribution agnostic." Gardner quips that he has no programming skills and Harrison says he's not a good graphic artist, so they expect to hire more top talent who believe the future of the industry lies online.

The amalgam of Infogrames/Atari apparently has a plan in place to make billions off game distribution. The strategy came to light earlier last week when Infogrames struck a distribution deal with Namco Bandai. Now Infogrames CEO David Gardner gives a little more detail about the scheme to MCV.

Gardner states that the company's main focus will still be "online social games," but that distribution in the European market holds a lot of financial potential. He explains that EA, Activision and Ubisoft have a firm grip on distribution in the region, but that other publishers are struggling to get product to retail. Gardner states that if Atari can get 25% of the business it should become a "billion dollar distribution force" on the continent.

After getting the unfamiliar taste of profit out of its mouth, Infogrames is hungry for more. To this end, the parent of oft-addled Atari announced that it has cozied up to fellow publisher Namco Bandai to handle distribution of the latter's titles in both Europe and Asia. GI.biz writes that Infogrames' distribution activities in those regions will be consolidated as a result of the agreement, with Namco Bandai taking ownership of some 34 percent while leaving the remainder in the hands of Infogrames itself.

According to the report, Infogrames expects to find its wallet pleasantly filled with added revenue as a result of the deal thanks to added efficiency and every Economics major's favorite phrase -- economies of scale. The report further notes that Infogrames is also open to partnering with other companies over similar deals in the pursuit of greater profitability, no doubt helped when not weighed down by any pesky big budget monkeyshines.

Grab the kids and run for the countryside, perennial loser Atari made a profit last quarter! GameDaily reports that it's nothing huge, but the company's $3.5 million profit in Q1 is quite the departure from the $11.9 million loss the same time last year. Alone in the Dark, which shipped 1.2 million copies this quarter, was apparently a strong contributor to the happy times.

Considering Atari didn't have any huge reveals at E3, it appears its projections for AitD's success need to be maintained for the rest of the fiscal year. It's good to see Harrisonet al. have the old girl up and walking again. Now let's see if they can avoid a relapse into fiscal floundering.

Our friends at Big Downloadtook both the PC and Xbox 360 versions of Alone in the Dark for a spin in an updated version of Big Versus. In their words, "Shying away from our original concept of which is better than the other, Big Versus has transformed to a comparison piece regarding our overall experiences." So which version left them with a more positive half-smile? Check it out here.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alone-in-the-darkatariinfogramesPCXbox-360Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:57:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/10/alone-in-the-dark-producer-talks-design/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/10/alone-in-the-dark-producer-talks-design/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/10/alone-in-the-dark-producer-talks-design/#comments
At a recent Atari event, the same one in which Phil Harrison stated that Atari would no longer pursue big budget, single-player titles, Gamasutra sat down with Nour Polloni, producer of Alone in the Dark. The interview focuses mainly on the gameplay and design choices that Eden made for the game. Of particular interest is Polloni's thoughts on the game's open design, which allows players to solve problems in ways that make sense to them. Said Polloni, "we didn't want you to search for the golden key to open the door." She emphasizes that players shouldn't be asking themselves what they can't do within the game. In other words, if a player thinks of a logical way to open the door -- smashing it with a fire extinguisher, for example -- it will work. It all boils down to logic and accessibility.

It's really a refreshing idea, and one we'd like to see implemented in more games. The interview is a worthwhile read. We suggest you check it out. Oh, and just so you know Polloni isn't merely spewing hot air, check out Joystiq's (very positive) impressions of the game.

Atari has dished out some new screens from upcoming title Alone in the Dark. Most of the shots feature protagonist Edward Carnby navigating dark and spooky environments. We even get a glimpse of old Ed's car, as he speeds around the abandoned streets bordering Central Park. Personally, we like a good scare every now and then. What about you?

Infogrames president Phil Harrison made some eyebrow-raising comments last week, claiming that following Alone in the Dark, his company would move away from "huge-budget, single-player games." Speaking to videogaming247, Harrison went into more detail on what he described as not just a shift in direction for Infogrames, but for the entire industry as well.

While suggesting once again that Infogrames will be moving away from single-player console titles, Harrison elaborates that those games will still have a place in the market, but will have to begin integrating connectivity and non-linearity to survive. We'll have to see if there's any truth in these sooth-saying words.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alone-in-the-darkatariinfogramesphil-harrisonWed, 28 May 2008 04:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/23/no-more-big-budget-games-for-atari/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/23/no-more-big-budget-games-for-atari/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/23/no-more-big-budget-games-for-atari/#comments
Phil Harrison, recently appointed president of Infogrames (parent company of Atari), has gone on record stating that Atari isn't likely to pursue any more big budget, single-player games after Alone in the Dark. Harrison told Gamasutra, "I don't see that we're going to be making huge-budget, single-player games in the future." Harrison did add that the company will still pursue "really incredible games that have high quality, high execution, and high innovation, but they won't be one-player, narrative-driven, start-middle-end games." Harrison sees online, socially driven games as the future for Atari and places emphasis on episodic content.

So, while a direct sequel to Alone in the Dark sounds unlikely, it's possible we might see similar games released in an episodic manner instead (as was the original plan for Alone in the Dark, which still incorporates an episodic structure). Harrison sees episodic games with integrated community features as a new direction for Atari and the games industry in general, giving video games the kind of "water cooler" effect that television shows enjoy. Sounds interesting to us.

Stopping short of calling Alone in the Dark his troubled (transitioning?) company's "swan song," Infogrames president and Atari legal guardian Phil Harrison has again proposed that the company (meaning Infogrames the parent and Atari the wholly owned US subsidiary) is focused on carving out its place in the budding online gaming business with a stress on social communication. "I don't see that we're going to be making huge-budget, single-player games in the future," Harrison told Gamasutra, adding, "Now, that doesn't mean that we won't have ambition to do really incredible games ... but they won't be one-player, narrative-driven, start-middle-end games."

Will we be hearing the same message if Alone in the Dark manages to answer CEO David Gardner's prayers (to the tune of 2-3 million units sold)? Sounds like it. Harrison has clearly set his sights on taking a "slightly aggressive, leading-edge role" in the online gaming movement where loneliness is the last motif he wants to cultivate and dark days are in the company's past. "We have plenty of titles in our pipeline, and we think [Alone in the Dark] will be an important part of our year, but it's by no means the only part of our year."

The real highlight in the video is the impressive amount of gameplay footage shown, which gives us a much better idea of what the title will actually be like. We're not sure yet if Alone in the Dark will be "blow your mind" fantastic, but much like The Darkness last summer, it appears well suited in getting some attention from the consoles it'll launch on during a less-than-crowded release time. Don't fret PS3 owners, you should be way too busy with Solid Snake starting June 12 to care about little ol' Edward Carnby.

Infogrames has added another new executive, with Fabrice Hamaide having just been appointed Chief Financial Officer. GameDaily has Hamaide's full resume, but that's not as important as pointing out that this is just another change in the new Infogrames/Atari that CEO David Gardner and Directeur Général Délégué Phil Harrison are building.

Infogrames announced that it will buy the remaining stock of Atari in an $11 million merger and will immediately lend $20 million to the company before the deal closes. Although it's been hard to distinguish the two companies, Infogrames only had a 51.4% controlling interest in Atari, which will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Infogrames by the third (calendar) quarter.

Former Sony executive Phil Harrison, who is now Directeur Général Délégué at Infogrames, said a little while ago that we should think of Atari/Infogrames as a start-up ... and we're slowly getting there. With this merger opening up the full-on name change, along with the slew of new executives the company is collecting, the Atari/Infogrames we know now doesn't seem to be the Atari we'll know in a year. Whether any of this fixes the grim financial situation of the publisher, however? That's a story for another time.

And playing the part of the jilted lover in today's episode of As The Game Industry Turns is Infogrames, as the company confirmed that while it recently offered to purchase Eidos-owner SCi, the Atari-parent saw its bid turned aside "at this stage."

The timing of the news is particularly interesting, given that SCi last week said that it had rejected an unspecified acquisition offer, though it remains unknown if the publisher was talking about Infogrames or some other mystery suitor. Not long after, SCi accepted a £60 million investment from Warner Bros. as part of what it called a strategic relationship.

We know how you feel Infogrames (or is it Atari?). You put yourself out there, and you're vulnerable. But thankfully, it's not as if you don't have options.

Infogrames CEO, David Gardner, tells GI.biz that the company may drop its name (which rocks our world) completely for the Atari marquee brand. He wants the company thought of as a "start-up" and the name change to represent the "final mark" of transformation. Directeur Général Délégué Phil Harrison chimes in that the company, as it stands now with a new management team less than a year old, is "absolutely a start-up" -- it's just a start-up with 25 years of history (and some serious financial drama).

Harrison and Gardner had apparently been talking about doing their own company for a long time. Harrison explains that the two had made significant plans and then the Atari opportunity came along. It was a company that had global infrastructure, offices, branding and was exactly the type of company the two were looking for. It'll probably become much easier to think of Atari as a "new" company once it announces some new IPs and gets the "old" company's games out the door, like the oft-delayed Alone in the Dark.

Infogrames CEO, David Gardner, tells Reuters he believes Alone in the Dark will sell two to three million copies this fiscal year. That means that, between its June 24 release and next March, the title needs to perform better than a game like BioShock. Given the fact that the title is being released on Wii, PS2, Xbox 360 and PC (PS3 is "sometime in 2008"), it just may hit that projection when combining all the systems ... maybe.

With all its fancy new executives, everything appears to be sunshine at the moment for Infogrames/Atari; but for the third time in less than a year Atari has been threatened with delisting by the Nasdaq stock exchange. The company admits it received a letter from Nasdaq's Listing Qualifications Department stating that it had not gained compliance with the last warning requiring the company obtain $15 million in market capitalization for 10 consecutive days before March 20.

Atari has asked Nasdaq for a hearing which will put a stay on the stock's execution. Meanwhile, Infogrames is looking to buy the "outstanding common stock" of the company, which may put this whole issue to rest. If Infogrames does not succeed, Atari admits there's no assurance it won't be delisted.

The entire purpose of this British nongame is to prepare people for their driver's license test. As an interactive study guide, it's probably not a bad thing -- but we'd prefer to study the old-fashioned way and save our money. We don't mind edutainment, but the thought of something as dull as driving theory on our DS seems rather unnecessary.

Should you think differently, though, you better hope that you live in the UK. We're sure learning British driving lessons as a U.S. driver would be a bad idea, as you'd wind up driving on the wrong left side of the road. If you are British, though, you'll be able to train in driving theory as soon as this summer.

In a rather terse press release, Atari announced it has a received an offer from Infogrames to buy the "outstanding common stock" of the fledgling company for $1.68 per share. Atari's stock closed at $1.66 yesterday but jumped to $1.77 this morning.

The move by Infogrames, already the majority shareholder in Atari, is hardly surprising. In a video interview this week, new Directeur Général Délégué Phil Harrison said, "The Atari opportunity, is the best opportunity that exists in the industry today to redefine, refocus and re-energize an incredible brand." Atari stated in the press release that it intends to evaluate the proposition, which in our minds entails the Board of Directors all working together to make a "Thank You Infogrames" card with macaroni and sprinkles.

Gametrailers has a video of Phil Harrison's Infogrames/Atari coming out party from earlier this week, depicting the former Sony exec really entrenching himself into the current fixer-upper situation. He quite confidently says to the press in attendance, "The Atari opportunity, is the best opportunity that exists in the industry today to redefine, refocus and re-energize an incredible brand."

So a few days ago you read about Phil Harrison's big decision about going to Infogrames. Today,you get to listen to Phil speak about that very decision in this video. It appears that the freshly appointed Directeur Général Délégué is getting comfortable at his new post as he introduces Eden Studios' Alone in the Dark. While we don't get to see much about the game, Phil seems excited about pushing it forward. Anyway, we really should stop our babbling and just let the man himself give you the low down.

Okay, maybe not literally (although the imagery does make us giggle), but a "magnet for talent" is certainly the new image Infogrames hopes to project. Now that Phil Harrison has taken his seat as president of Infogrames, CEO David Gardner has been singing the praises of the company's new business model, which is centered around the online market, as well as recognizable talent, and attracting new faces.

According to Gardner, the future of Atari and Infogrames rests in the field of online gaming, a risky new venture for the company that Gardner is optimistic Harrison will be able to assist in. In addition to the new online focus, Gardner hopes that the company can continue to attract talent, and aims for a healthy mix of both industry veterans, and fresh young faces hoping to innovate. They better hope that magnet's got a lot of pull left in it, as Atari's messyhistory is naturally repellent.

Harrison's fancy French title (which we're sure to use every chance we can) isn't going to protect him from the hard road ahead. The plan is apparently for Harrison and Gardner to turn Atari into "a leading online game company." Despite Gardner's belief that Infogrames has a "strong financial foundation," its going to take a lot of "show us" over the next few years before Atari gets off the D-list. But damn, is getting Harrison on the team a good start.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ataribreakingnewsgardnerinfogramesphil-harrisonphilharrisonMon, 03 Mar 2008 23:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/03/phil-harrison-now-officially-with-infogrames-atari/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/03/phil-harrison-now-officially-with-infogrames-atari/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/03/phil-harrison-now-officially-with-infogrames-atari/#comments
Well, well, well, the rumors turned out to be true. The former president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, Phil Harrison, is now president of French company Infogrames. Harrison will be working alongside newly appointed CEO David Gardner and will be overseeing the studios and content development for the group -- including the Infogrames-owned Atari.

As this comes as quite a surprise to many, Phil backs his decision by stating, "This is the perfect time to join Infogrames and help shape the future of Atari." Can the old Sony heavyweight do it? Can he help restore the sinking ship that is Atari? We always want to see success, so we're hoping for the best. Score one for France.